DRAWING WITH MACHINES

LETTRES

 interpretation of Vera Monar's Lettres de ma Mère .

I took different approaches, from generating what might resemble Vera's lettres (or an ekg) into code that interprets images from my mom's letters and a bit of manual editing (ops). I think the outcome varies, and I learned how to test and run my svg's. I wanted options, I got me options 

UIO

 offset curve assigments

Plotted the topography from probably one of the most topologically complex parts of  Quito. 

WALKING DOT

Bantam ArtFrame 1824 plotted

Build a program that generates randomized iterations of lines with vsketch. I selected a couple ones and converted the output svg into G-code, then added the Z-axis values within the range we were working with. 

TONE COMPOSITION

Selfies from me and Mo using drawingBot's spiral sawtooth function.

A Guggenheim picture translated into a voronoi structure through grasshopper.

PATTERN COMPOSITION

Iterations on the 17 types of 2D crystallographic symmetries

MATERIAL EXPLORATION

Spiraling through projects

For the spiral, happy Posca mistakes added thickness to the lines, the iridecense and albedo of the material come through in the animation

For the material exploration, I did a little bit of HRI because the material asked for it, water and paint on my side. Brush and path from the axidraw. The pattern that lies behind was plotted with e a Pilot G-2 pen, it made me realize that I needed the visual guidance, the machine just needed the command. I focused on the nodes, but although the code was optimized, it didn’t follow a single continuous path—it became more of a process of coincidence, on-the-spot fixing, reflection, and iteration. 

SAND DRAWING

Robotic sand drawing workshop at the Acadia 2025 conference

From the workshop brief:
A hands-on exploration of how to create large-scale sand drawings using cable-driven robots on Miami Beach. Participants learned hardware setup, calibration techniques, and built custom control software to generate their own sand drawings — which were then documented through aerial photography.

This workshop was led by Madeline Gannon (ATONATON). We spent the day experimenting with cable-driven robots and exploring different ways of drawing in the sand. From sketching directly on an iPad to importing SVG files to pushing the material limits of sand, it was a mix of play, problem-solving, and technical magic.

I loved digging into the software and gear, but I also got to document parts of the group process. That’s always one of my favorite things, capturing the behind-the-scenes moments, the experiments, the unexpected patterns that show up when you combine people, robots, and the environment. With a project this interactive, the process becomes just as compelling as the final drawings.

CARDS

Plotted cards for the Coin-Op Plot machines at the Machine Arts Gallery 

As part of this class, we’ll be showing work at the Machine Arts Gallery. For my set of cards, I dove back into two earlier explorations: pattern composition and Voronoi tone studies.

The first four cards are small compositions (2.55 × 2.55 inches) built around different types of 2D crystallographic symmetries. They’re essentially tiny, iterative spirographic experiments. Crisp, repetitive, and packed with traces of all the pattern logic I’ve been studying.

The next four are based on 2D Voronoi bubble structures (4.10 × 2.35 inches), plotted in two different color combinations. These feel more organic and spatial, almost like slices of minimal surfaces or little frozen soap films.

My goal was to have more than one direction to choose from, to test out lessons from the class, play a bit, and also leave behind a snapshot of what I’ve been exploring this semester.